Dragnipur
Dragnipur was the sword wielded by Anomander Rake.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.211 In its first appearance it was described as a two-handed sword with a silver dragonskull pommel and an archaic crosshilt. Baruk estimated that the wooden scabbard was a full six and a half feet long. Another description spoke of a long, silver-hilted bastard sword, with an inky-black blade that absorbed all light. When drawn from its sheath, the sword groaned awake, emitting chains of smoke and filling the air with the sounds of creaking wheels and a chorus of hopeless moaning.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 22, US HC p.453 Even sheathed, it emanated terror.Memories of Ice, Chapter 5 A normally non-fatal wound, caused by Dragnipur, could lead to death whilst blood on the blade boiled and turned to ash.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.472 The sword was a Warren containing the Gate of Darkness. This gate was held within an immense wooden wagon, with wheels as tall as a man.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 15 It was drawn by chains linked to the souls of all individuals who have been slain with Dragnipur. The cart was endlessly pursued by the forces of Chaos.Memories of Ice, Chapter 23, UK MMPB p.971 In Gardens of the Moon Rake slew the demon Pearl with Dragnipur.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, UK MMPB p.424/427/436/437/441 In one of his dreams, Kruppe was told by the Elder God K'rul that the sounds of a wagon, wheels, chains and slaves which he could hear were in fact those of the sword Dragnipur which was forged in Darkness and chained those it slew to the world which existed before the coming of light. K'rul warned that its wielder was now amongst them and Kruppe had a vision of his Deck of Dragons and the image of the Knight of High House Darkness. K'rul told Kruppe that when it was first forged, none could withstand Dragnipur but he did not know if that was still the case.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, UK MMPB p.441 Rake used the sword to slay the Hounds of Shadow, Doan and Ganrod.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 15, US HC p.331-332 Ganoes Paran touched the blood of one of the slain Hounds and felt himself drawn into the sword's warren after them. Unlike the other prisoners of the sword, Paran was not chained to the wagon. With the reluctant help of Oponn, he freed Doan and Ganrod from their chains, then escaped himself.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.476-482 The demon Lord of Galayn was killed with the sword.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.475-476 In Memories of Ice 119,736 years before Burn's Sleep, Draconus, K'rul, and the Sister of Cold Nights punished Kallor for his evil deeds by laying a curse upon him. Kallor then in turn cursed the three of them. He told Draconus that "what you create shall be turned upon you". After they left Kallor, Draconus told the other two about a sword he was forging. He said he had been working on the weapon since the time of All Darkness and that his effort was finally nearing completion. He noted that the sword was invested with a power that possessed "a finality". A surprised K'rul counseled him to "make alterations in the final shaping" in light of Kallor's curse, and Draconus promised to think on it.Memories of Ice, Prologue, UK MMPB p.40/41 Tool mentioned to Toc the Younger that Dragnipur had been forged by Draconus who was later killed by its current wielder, Anomander Rake (thus fulfilling Kallor's curse).Memories of Ice, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.65 The touching of the Hound's blood and his subsequent foray into Dragnipur left their mark on Paran. He felt that, although he had escaped the world of the sword, he could feel its chains about him, drawing ever tighter, an expectation for him to become something...Memories of Ice, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.93/94 When Paran again entered the warren of the sword, Draconus told him about the origin and purpose of Dragnipur and explained the pressing need to shatter the sword. He said that when he made the sword, his understanding of the Gate of Darkness had been flawed.Memories of Ice, Chapter 23, UK MMPB p.970-974 When souls in Dragnipur became too exhausted to pull the wagon, they were stacked on the wagon top in a pile. The result was an unsustainable demand for new souls to pull the ever-increasing load in the flight from Chaos.Memories of Ice, Chapter 23 There were two options: taking new souls by killing with the sword, or shattering the sword to release the Gate of Darkness to its natural migration patterns. At one point, Ganoes confided the details of his escape from the sword to Whiskeyjack. The Bridgeburner warned him to keep this knowledge from Anomander Rake. The sword's prison was meant to be inescapable. Ganoes' escape was an alarming precedent and Rake could be "an unpredictable bastard."Memories of Ice, Chapter 4 In Toll the Hounds Anomander Rake killed Hood, drawing him into the sword. Rake then forced Traveller into a fight and contrived that the man kill him with Dragnipur. Thus Rake himself was drawn into the sword, where he confronted Chaos with Hood and the Legions of the Dead, sacrificing himself so that Mother Dark would return and take the Gate of Darkness back to where it belonged, with the Tiste Andii, thus ending the reason for Dragnipur's existence. The sword was then destroyed by Caladan Brood.Toll the Hounds, Epilogue, UK HB p.921/922 This released the occupants of the warren within the sword out into the world. Some of the more notable included Draconus and Apsal'ara. In Return of the Crimson Guard In the Elder Age, Draconus pursued Liossercal and carried a weapon in the form of an "alarming darkness" at his side. He was eager to add the Bastard of Light's essence to the weapon's Void.Return of the Crimson Guard, Prologue In Blood and Bone Dragnipur was infamous enough that even the Thaumaturgs of the Kingdom of the Thaumaturgs of Jacuruku had heard of it and knew its history.Blood and Bone, Chapter 5, US HC p.180 Notes and references de:Dragnipur Category:Swords